India and Qatar on Tuesday agreed to create a 'Special Task Force' to facilitate investments by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in the South Asian country, during a phone call between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.
"The two leaders discussed the robust cooperation between both countries in the fields of investment flows and energy security, and reviewed recent positive developments in this regard," the Indian government revealed in an official statement.
"They decided to create a special Task-Force to further facilitate investments by Qatar Investment Authority into India, and also resolved to explore Qatari investments in the entire energy value-chain in India," it stated.
The gas-rich Gulf monarchy accounts for almost 80 percent of India's Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) imports. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), bilateral trade between Qatar and India was worth $6.8 billion, as of November 2019.
Valued at $335 billion, the Doha-headquartered fund has an extensive portfolio of investments in the United Kingdom and the US among other countries, in sectors spanning from real estate to civil aviation.
In India, the QIA has been planning on ramping up its investment portfolio for the last few years, as per reports in the Indian media. Education technology start-up Byju's announced last year that it had received funding of $150 million from the Qatar state fund.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), an Indian telecoms giant which is backed by Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani, was also in talks with QIA last year to obtain $1.5 billion in investment money.
In February this year, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited (AEML), backed by another business bigwig, Gautam Adani, said that the QIA had acquired a 25.1 percent stake in the company in a deal reportedly valued at $452 million.
Civil Aviation Sector
The creation of a joint task force could also pave the way for the sovereign wealth fund acquiring minority stakes in Indian airports.
QIA is already in talks with business magnate Gautam Adani, whose company Adani Airport Holdings Limited operates the Mumbai airport, to acquire a minority stake in India's second-biggest airport.
India's business daily Mint reported that Adani Airport was looking to raise $750 million through the business deal.
Earlier this year, the Indian government relaxed rules to permit 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into brownfield airports (existing airports requiring an infrastructure upgrade).
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had set itself an aim of making 250 airports operational by the end of this year. The country had a total of 103 airports as of last year.
A spokesperson from Qatar Embassy in New Delhi told Sputnik that both the governments would be finalising the creation of the Special Task Force (STF) in the coming days. "As of now, we don't have a date when the agreement will be formalised."
